A gift of $100 or more gives donors an opportunity to commemorate their contributions or recognize others on bookplates in the library's online collection.

Donors are using bookplates to make a lasting impression on the Eugene McDermott Library and to help move the library closer to its$500,000 goal for Realize the Vision, the University’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign.

As a benefit to joining the Friends of the Eugene McDermott Library with a gift of $100 or more, supporters are customizing bookplates that become part of the library’s fastest-growing field, the online catalogs.

“Honoring donors this way acknowledges the direction most major research university libraries are going,” said Dr. Ellen Safley, director of the McDermott Library. “While there will always be a need for traditional paper resources, we know research libraries of the future will be predominantly electronic with virtual collections rather than endless shelves of books.”

The McDermott Library first began placing books and journals online in 1996, and the pace has continued to increase ever since.

“At this time, about 60 percent of all our resources can be accessed virtually,” Safley said. “Within the next decade, we expect that to increase by at least 25 percent.”

Friends of the Eugene McDermott Library choose from three categories of bookplates in a variety of designs. Donors can memorialize a loved one, honor someone special, or simply provide recognition of a loyal friend to the University.

“The library continues to be a critical resource in my professional life,” said Laster, “And, I’m proud to support this new program.”

The nearly $400,000 raised so far for the McDermott Library during the campaign will support the library in many ways, including digitizing archival documents, increasing access to online journals and building improvements. The five-year Realize the Vision effort aims to raise $200 million for the University by Dec. 31, 2014.

For more information, please visit utdallas.edu/library/support or contact Gwendolyn Perrilliat, director of development and special projects at 972-883-5485 or gwendolynperrilliat@utdallas.edu.